Do or Die
by TheFluidThespian
Summary: Dave Strider's life the way he knew it is gone. Being the only survivor of an attack on his hometown, he leaves behind everything and everyone. The young Strider is left with only his Bro's accessories and sword. Along with a thirst of revenge on the Federation, the army that started this mess. Now Dave is determined to clean it up with their blood. (Codstuck)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey readers! I'm back with another story, and I just now came up this. So I've always wanted to do something with a combination of the things I enjoy. Which obviously is Call of Duty... And Homestuck! Since I made a fan art of Dave and Ghost, I just knew I had to make something out of it. But there unfortunately is no Ghost in the story you're about to read. However there are Ghosts! But yeah, getting to the AU details now.**

 **AU Details: Instead of Dallas getting overrun (If you remember the beginning of Brave New World) it's going to be Houston instead since that's Dave's home town. I know that ODIN already struck Houston in Ghost stories. But it's all AU people. I'll be updating the AU details later on so stay tuned for that. But other than that, hope ya like it :)**

 **Oh! And I'm typing and posting this on a plane! How cool is that? :3**

 **Update: Good lord. Really glad I'm revising this shit.**

* * *

 _?: Be the kid on the roof_

You hope the apprehensiveness would go away at some point. You've had it almost the entire day, yet nothing suspicious filled the air. People you looked down on from the rooftop of your apartment appeared to be enjoying the rest of their evening as the sun began to fade away, your Bro was out for the moment or he could possibly be back (You really don't pay attention to what he does around the small apartment), and all remained peaceful. Though you keep feeling that something is going to happen. You don't think. You _know._ A sudden chill crept down your spine as a cool breeze brushed gently passed by. You sigh to yourself before turning your gaze back to the sunset. You take off your shades to get a better view of the explosion of colors blooming in the distance. It helps you relax just a little bit, and you tap the tip of your foot against the graveled roof. On a summer day like this, you don't know what could go wrong. Maybe you just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Maybe you're just tired. Maybe there's just something in the air that's throwing you off. You really don't know. When your eyes begin to burn at the brightness of the sun, you finally choose to put your shades back on. You looked down again, trying to just relax and watch all the tiny people below you.

Though without a warning, the tornado siren not too far from your apartment begins to blare off. Confused, you looked up at the sky, yet there were no strong winds or nasty-looking clouds. The people below you had stopped what they were doing as well, looking at each other in a daze, some were running inside the nearby buildings as if to protect themselves from the unknown. You back away slowly, looking around anxiously before taking off into the apartment, descending down the long stares before finally getting to your floor and room.

When you burst through the door, your Bro was standing in the living room and looking at the television. "Bro, what's going on-?"

"Shh!" He stopped you where you were, and you both paid attention to the tv screen, which had a white text saying, _EAS. CIVIL EMERGENCY MESSAGE FOR YOUR AREA UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE._

Then you heard voice of something that sounded like a text-to-speech bot, "The following message is transmitted at the request of the United States Office of Civil Defense. At 7:30 PM Central Time, military surveillance satellites detected foreign activity along the border of Texas-"

Bro moved you out of the living room and towards your own rooms down in the hall, you nearly trip, losing your cool, "Bro, what's happening?"

"Didn't you hear, little man?" He shoots you an unreadable look, probably because of those pointy shades blocking his expression. But he sounded pretty freaked out as he continued, "We're being threatened, which means we can't stay here and wait to get killed." He almost pushes you into your room, "Find whatever you can carry. Food, drinks, clothes. Don't bring anything that'll weight you down.

You obeyed and searched eagerly around your room for your backpack. It was sitting at the foot of your bed, which you quickly unzipped and emptied all of the educational things and stuff out, as those really didn't seem necessary to keep during the summer any way. With that emptied, you run over to your closet, finding a few bottles of apple juice which who knows how long they've been in there. Having a love for the fruity goodness, you of course packed it in and walked over to the desk. You saw that John was trying to pester him about another one of his shitty movies with Nic Cage and all of that flim flam. You were about to respond, but you have no idea how long it would take for you to explain that your hometown is being attacked.

Your shaded eyes gazed over to a picture buried under some comics and papers. Reaching over and pulling it out, you saw that it was an old picture of you and your friends, and the memories of that summer flashed before your eyes. Though you live far apart from each other, you all managed to schedule a bit of a play date around the Fourth of July a few years back. Starting from the left, Rose, wearing a patriotic headband with stars sticking out, had an arm wrapped around the nerd in glasses, better known as John, who too was wearing shutter glasses with the same theme as Rose's. He was nudged closely to you, and wrapped around you was Jade. All looked cheerful accept for you since... Well you'd rather just keep your cool together. You stuffed it into the back pocket of your backpack and rushed back out into the kitchen.

When you opened the fridge, dozens of Bro's swords came spilling out. _God dammit. You and your swords, bro..._ But where does he even keep the food? _Do we even have food?_

You look anxiously around through the cupboards. Hell, you even check the oven. Though as you opened the top cabinet, you finally found an unopened bag of chips, which you grabbed, nearly falling off the counter. As you hopped down, your Bro came back into the room, Lil' Cal wrapped around his shoulders, a sword in one hand and his red, flame patterned Rocket Board.

He looks down down at the bundle of scattered swords on the floor, and sets the board down, reaching for one of them. "Catch, little man," he tosses the sword to you.

You drop the chips to catch the sword, and you give Bro a look even though he can't exactly see it through your aviators. He's never really let you touch his swords. "You sure?"

"It's better than that dull piece of shit hanging in your room," he shrugged, though he had a point. He gestured his head towards the exit, "Now let's go, roof now-"

Just as Bro finished, both of you are blown away by a violent gust of debris blowing up from the exit. You hit the wall, stunned for a minute as your hear the desperate shouts coming from your older brother, "Dave! DAVID! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!"

You cough dryly, "I'm fine… _Holy shit_..."

When you find the strength to get up and walk, you search for your bro in the dusty air. He appeared to pulling a large chunk of debris off of the rocket board, or at least trying to. He pounded his fist against the chunk, growling in frustration, "So much for the easy way. Stay close, little man."

You grip the sword, following your Bro through the destroyed area of the apartment. "What's the plan here, Bro?" Your voice is shaken up. Flying in the darkened skies are helicopters. Only... They've got weaponry attached, and they were using it to light up the buildings. On the streets were panicked civilians, running from the men with guns and tanks. _An earlier warning would've been nice..._ You look over to Bro, who looks down on you as well, "We're not gonna die here. Follow me."

He begins to slowly slide sideways across the slender ledge of the building. _Oh hell no._ It's all you can think now. "Dave! Come on!" Okay. _I guess I've got no choice..._ Slowly and anxiously, you retrace your brother's steps, trying not to look down. God, this is even crazier than your strifes. As you make your way towards him, the building quakes once more as the copter fires another missile. There's nothing to grab onto, yet you surprisingly remain on the ledge.

When you look over, Bro is standing up on a fire escape on the building next to you. _How'd he get over there so quickly?_

Though once you get to the end of the line, you see the jump he made is rather a bit far. "Jump, Dave!" Bro holds out his hand. Your legs turn to noodles, paralyzed for a short minute. All your senses could really focus on we're the loud 'booms' and gunfire. _Just jump, Strider!_

As the next strike from above hits your building, you take a leap of faith, barely making it. Bro reached out for you, grabbing your wrist, but leaving your scrawny body dangling. "I've got you!"

He grunts and pulls you to safety. Not having a second to catch your breath, the both of you immediately rush up the fire escape and onto the roof. You get a good look at the city from above. There were plumes of smoke, fire, and sirens going off. "Bro..."

"I see it, little man," he said, "But let's not get caught up in a that. Stay on my heels, okay?"

"Right behind you."

You both take off across the roof, having every ounce of adrenaline pump through your body. A single breath of oxygen wasn't inhaled or exhaled. You don't even know it. Suddenly when you leap to the next building, it shakes once more as it felt as if it got shot up from below from the tanks and above from the copters. It was so hard not to look at them. Your only goal here is to keep up with Bro, as it seems he's the one who's holding it together better than you are. As long as you don't take your eyes off him, you keep running. _Eyes on him, Strider. Just keep running and you'll be fine._ There was another leap across to another building, one that was much lower than the one you were on now. _Don't think just jump-_ You really couldn't think or jump as you took your front foot off the building just in time as you felt the force of the next explosion right behind you, sending you forward, uncoordinated, nonetheless, you made onto the rooftop of the building, landing and putting all your weight into your left leg, causing you to fall. As you tried getting up, you fell back down onto your hands and knees. Looking ahead, you call out, "Bro...!"

You see him turn around, sliding down to you, "What is it?"

In attempt to stand up again, you almost whined, "I think I twisted my ankle."

"How bad is it?"

"Well I can't stand on it!"

He picks you up, throwing you onto his shoulder before taking off in the other direction. You were his eyes for his blindside, and all you could see was fire and debris flying all over the place. The sword in your hand slips out and falls into the alley as your bro leaps out again. "We're almost there," He says. _Almost where? Where are we even going?_ He at least seems to know what he's talking about, and you trust him. "Dave, how're we doing?" He checks in with you. When you don't respond he squeezes your waist with his arm, "Talk to me, Dave!"

"I-I'm fine," You say.

"Alright... Alright, hang tight. This is gonna be a big jump."

You moan in pain and hold onto his shirt. Cal's little, limp hand is on your back to to help settle you down. _Not helping, Cal. Not helping._ Bro finally runs, and jumps. Oh god, the jump is long. It feels like an eternity until he finally grabs onto the ledge with one hand. He grunts as he struggles to keep you and himself on board. He brings you onto the roof before anything. Then you sit up to help him get on as well.

The building he leapt off of blew up into flames, debris nearly hitting you, yet striking your brother on the lower back. All you could hear was a faint ringing, and as you looked at bro, you noted how heavy he felt all of a sudden.

Both of you stayed silent, looking at each other. Then you finally gasp at the sight of blood beginning to pour from your brother's mouth as his legs dangled, seeming as if he were now paralyzed waist down. His breathing is quick, but not like yours. "Bro hang on, I'll get you up-"

He sets a hand on your cheek before you could continue. He tried to say something to you, yet he said nothing. But he smiled, as if letting you know that everything was going to be okay. His own grip on your hand loosens, but you hang on. "No! No! Hang on!"

You are cut off once again by a violent shake on the building, this time, it was also tilting. You try to pull your brother back. But he was motionless and heavy, impossible to bring up as the building began to tilt more towards you. There was no use in trying to get you and Bro out of here. He suddenly slipped out of your grasp, and you were the only one that remained on the falling building, leaping up to hold onto the chimney.

Everything begins to fade away and the tips of your fingers turn numb.

Your name is Dave Strider.

And your world as you knew it is gone.


	2. Chapter 2

_Dave: Be Someone else_

Who the hell are you now? Well, as you glance over to your hand which hold your dog tags, and traced along it are faded letters spelling out, _David Walker._ Oh right. Your name is now David Walker, but everyone on the base calls you "Hesh", a shortened version of your middle name, "Hershel". For the moment, you, your younger brother, Logan, and German Shepherd, Riley, have been resting up in your little den. Or at least your brother was really the one resting. You, however, are just bouncing a tennis ball off the wall and Riley is determined to snatch it out. He nearly bit your hand when you threw it this time, and as you pushed away to remind him he wasn't supposed to hurt his allies, he growled playfully. You take a moment to look at Logan to make sure he didn't wake up.

Nope. He looks pretty cozy where he is right now. Though you were supposed to wake him up like, an hour ago, you thought you'd let him have a break for once. You both were up against some intense shit this month, and pretty much have been for ten whole years. The Federation had been at large for many years, and as soldiers, you fought to bring them down. They believed that you guys were weak and defenseless. But you and your team fought hard to a bloody stalemate, but now all you can do is wait. Wait for that wake up call to the next battle.

"Viking-Six, you there?" You hear a voice in your radio, "Hesh? Logan?"

Logan moved his head to speak, but remained asleep. A grin spread across your lips and you spoke before he could, "Uh, copy. Yeah. Go ahead."

"Reports are coming in. Houston got overrun last night. Command wants another sweep of the wall ASAP."

You shook your head. _The Federation played their next card, apparently._ "Shit... Any survivors."

For a moment, the comms were silent. Then the private over the radio spoke again, "Stand by. I'm getting new information."

* * *

 _Dave: Wake up_

Wait. You're alive?! Oh no shit! You're alive! But as you slowly come around, all you can feel is the pain spreading throughout your body. Your vision is partly fuzzy and dark, part from your aviators which surprisingly still stayed on your face. You're lying against something hard, and it feels a bit awkward to be lying against it. Shakily, you lift your hand to remove your shades, instantly blinded by the light shining down on you. Though it clears your vision a bit, and you see that you're on a floor of another building and only your left leg is hanging off the edge. You finally move, grunting against the aching pain in your bones. But you fight through it, down at the collapsed building below you; The building you were on before. Recalling hanging by the chimney of the roof, you only assume you fell and slid into this building as soon as it started to tip over. How'd you manage to survive something like this? Where's Bro?

 _Oh God. Bro_. You jump off the floor you are on, thinking it was going to be a harsh landing with the pain spread throughout your body. As you hit the landing, you break and fall through the glass before tumbling and falling through other parts of the building. All you could do was brace yourself until it all stopped. When it finally did, you sighed out heavily like you were going to cry. But no tears broke through your eyes. All you could do was shout in pain as you stood up once more, feeling stings and scratches from the glass shards. Your ankle especially ached in protest as you began walking, and you can almost feel it swell past your shoe. Then, not too far from the edge of the building, laying out in the dim light of dusk, was bloody body. But you knew who it was! _Oh my God, Bro!_ The building shook, seconds away from collapsing.

Your legs ran as fast as they could as the building inched closer and closer to you. As you leapt out into the light, the building collapsed, and you laid there for a moment, preying that the structure didn't crush Bro. But when you turned around, he was still laying there, and you crawled over to him, pushing his sword out of the way. Though you take him into his arms to lay him on your lap, something was immediately off. Your hand touches his arm, feeling nothing but cold skin. He stayed heavy and limp in your arms. "Bro, c'mon," You rasp out, "We, _fuck..._ We can't stay here..."

You try pulling him, get he still stays limp. "This isn't funny. We need to go!" You finally freeze, feeling not your blood from those small, newly earned cuts, but Bro's against your leg. Instead, your focus stays on the wound in this ribs. "B-Bro...?" No response. You start to shake, trembling at the fact that you're holding your dead brother. "No... You can't... No! Bro, come back to me...! Don't...! Don't leave me here-" You're interrupted by a river of vomit escaping your mouth. After puking it twice, you cough and pay no mind to it. You stay staring at him. He was still wearing those anime shades, which you always thought were a piece of shit, and his baseball cap was sitting not too far from his head. With a shaky hand, you reach out to take the shades off, and you see those orange eyes. They're open. But they didn't blink. They just stayed staring up at nothing. "Don't do this to me, man," You cried, ducking your head into his chest, "I... I need you..." Somehow for some reason, you felt that he was still with you. Only he was standing behind you, his hands pulling you in for a hug and saying, "You're never alone, little man." But he's gone! He's never coming back!

As you trembled and cried, you look around, seeing dead bodies all around you, some crushed, some missing limbs, and you puked once again that the sight of a dead mother holding her bloodied child. Y roll over to lay on your back, your head laying on Bro's arm that extended out. _I don't want to die. I didn't want_ _ **you**_ _to die, Bro._ Now all you can do is wait for your turn. You're _going_ to die. You know you're not going to make it this far in a city that lies in ruins, and you know for sure you can't survive on your own. You put your shades back on to shield out the daylight that shines in your eyes. They're slightly cracked. Just before you're about to close your eyes, you hear voices coming from nearby. You turn your head over, seeing a few figures looking through the buildings, checking bodies for pulses, one of them said aloud, "This place is dead, man."

While inhaling, you end up coughing several times. It was weak, but loud enough to grab the soldiers' attention. "Over there!" One of them pointed out, and you scooted closer to Bro's body. Their footsteps got louder, and you saw one of them come into your view, putting his fingers on your neck and shouting out, "We've got a live one!" You tried clinging onto Bro's shirt, but saw you couldn't hold on for very long. One of the men looked at Bro, then back at you. You were reaching out for your brother, wanting to stay with him but at the same time wanting to seek the treatment you needed. The soldier setting you down on a flat spot called for a medic before taking off your glasses, looking at your tear-filled eyes. "Look at me, kid," he said, "We're gonna get you help. You're gonna be okay."

You tried to speak, but all that came out were more cries and gasps. He set a hand on your cheek, cooing, "Just keep your eyes open, little man." At the last part, you broke down into an even heavier sob-fest, shaking from the chills and shock. A few other faces came into your blurred vision. One of them was looking at your wound before putting a oxygen mask over your nose and mouth. You wanted to curl up and bawl all over the place, but you were in too much pain to do so. One man was telling you to calm down, the other trying the comfort you as best as he could, and the last was pulling out a needle. You weren't even paying attention to anything else that was happening. You were in too much emotional pain more than you were physically. You couldn't even feel the needle going into the veins of your neck, which made you wonder why everything was starting to feel woozy all of a sudden.

Your head began to get heavy, and your trembles simmered down a bit along with your sobs. With all your effort, you tried to stay awake.

But you just _couldn't_.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hesh: Regroup_

It was like music to your ears to hear there was a survivor found in the ruins of Houston, but there was an off note to also learn that his medical state was critical. It had been almost half an hour since you received news of the survivor, and by now you and Logan had surveyed The Wall, searching for any Federation activity before going to rendezvous with your teammates back at Fort Santa Monica. Within this area were civilians that on some days would listen to the gunfire and explosions going on not too far away. Even when they were advised to go underground until the attack faded, they'd still cringe and curl up in fear from hearing the firefight. Sometimes men that have reached the age of eighteen were required to join forces to bring victory to what remained of the United States.

As you, Logan, and Riley exit the vehicle you were riding in, a nearby chopper began to make its descent near the medical tents not too far from here. You and your brother exchanged looks before rushing over to the chopper. The doors opened, and coming out first was the medic holding a bleached, blonde boy wrapped in an orange blanket. He was filthy, bloody, and bruised. He was as pale as the floating clouds and unconscious. While Logan stayed with the boy, you ran over to the sergeant in charge of his team for the report, who spoke, "We still have a few teams searching for any survivors, collecting belongings..." He pointed to the medic, but referred to the boy in his arms, "He was the only one we could find so far."

"Is his condition any better?" You ask, quickly making your way towards them.

"He seems to have a swollen ankle, but only minor injuries. However, we had to sedate him to prevent him from going into shock earlier."

You nod, jogging off to regroup with Logan, Riley, and the medic. They cleared the table, setting the blonde boy down. Slowly, he began to come around, his eyes dashing and blinking at everything around him. "He's awake," The medic commented, and he turned to you, "Hesh, keep him that way. Logan, get me some ice, antibiotics, and bandages."

You lean your hands against the table, getting into his view so his focus would be on you only. His eyes build up with tears, which you now realized were red. "W-Where am I...?" He blinked, shivering.

You tuck the orange blanket around him even more to wave off the shock, "You're safe. But for now, I need you to talk to me."

He inhaled, flinching in pain, and you set your hand down on his cheek, "Keep your eyes open, okay? You've just gotta work through it. What's your name?"

He swallowed, "... D-Dave..."

"Okay, Dave. How old are you?"

"I-I'm... Fuck!" His back nearly arched up, and you saw the medic, pressing ice up against the swollen and bruised ankle, and Logan, holding down his leg to prevent him from kicking up.

"You're alright, Dave. They're just helping you."

Dave had his eyes squeezed closed, tears leaking out as his hands balled up into fists against the pain. He moaned out in agony, and you gripped his right hand to give him your best efforts to comfort him. "Dammit..."

"You're okay... Just fight through it."

Dave inhaled, slowly opening his eyes. His breaths were deep and raspy. He swallowed again, going back to your earlier question, "I-I'm... I'm sixteen-" He inhaled sharply again.

"Alright, nothing too serious," The medic commented, "Just a twisted ankle. It'll be a short recovery, but let's just try to keep him from walking on it."

"Roger that."

Dave was still shaking, and in a matter of seconds, his eyes closed again, as if everything was happening too quickly for him to process, which made complete and total sense for why he lost consciousness. Though as long as he stayed alive, it was good enough. After all, a living civilian was better than a dead one.

* * *

 _Dave: Cue recovery_

You slowly start to come around, everything's warmer than before, recalling feeling nothing but numbness and shivers. Now you can feel the heat of the sun, even though it's not on you. Though as you finally open your eyes, you see that your bloodied clothes are still on, yet the scars have stopped bleeding and the bruises have finally settled into a nasty purple color. Your shoes were off, and wrapped around your ankle was a tight brace, which itched and burned the aching pain in that area. You try to sit up, but are quickly taken back by the soreness. You wanted to get up and find out what the hell was going on, but there was just too much pain erupting throughout your body. All you can really do is turn your head side to side. Leaning against the material of the tent is something thin and wrapped in fabric. But at the top of it was a black handle. _Is that my sword?_ Or maybe... Is that a sword? Then sitting on the table next to you are your cracked shades and a box. What's in the box? You lean over just a bit to see some belongings, some that looked familiar, and others that probably didn't belong to you. You see your backpack that was on you the entire time during the attack and the aftermath. Your jars off apple juice could possibly have shattered and soaked every part of the bag. Maybe they did. What else could be in there? _The bunny?_ You couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Oh Egbert... Then your friends came to mind. Rose, Jade, and John... Will you ever get to see them again?

"Hey, you're up," You hear a voice address to you, and you look to see that at the entrance of the tent was someone familiar. He was dressed in a military uniform along with its gear and the top of his head was covered by a thick beanie. Where have you seen him before? "Yeah... I'm up," You finally coughed, "How long was I..."

"It's the late afternoon. You've been out for quite a while. How're you feeling?"

You placed your palm on your forehead, "I don't know... A little crappy? W-Who are you?"

"The guys around here call me 'Hesh'."

"Hesh... Okay... Um, where am I?"

"California. Or what's left of it at least."

 _California? Seriously?_ "Th-There was another person with me... He sort of looked like me, he was like... Big and buff... My brother, is he...?"

Hesh closes his eyes, sighing as he really didn't want to admit, "Everyone in Houston is dead, Dave. I'm sorry..."

You close your eyes, shaking your head as another round of tears built up in your head. _I can't believe this is actually happening... Why would anyone do something like this?_ Not wanting Hesh to see you cry, you look away, your eyes on the box on the table next to you. Your eyes gaze up the sword leaning up against the tent, "That belonged to him..."

"That's what the said too," Hesh said, quietly, "It was right next to the both of you. Some are still searching for any survivors but all they've found are personal belongings in that city..."

"No one else survived?"

"As far as we know, you're the only one they found. Which is good enough for me..."

You stayed silent, only nodding and clutching the sheets below you. "We're not gonna let it happen again," He says, "But for now, do you need anything that will help you right now?"

You shake your head, "No... I think I just need to be alone right now. Thanks anyway."

Hesh nods, "Call if you need anything. I won't be far."

He leaves the tent, leaving you alone for a moment to yourself. You look around the sunbathed tent before leaning over, painfully reaching for the box. You slide it over just a little bit, which was close enough for you to gasp with your two hands and pull it into your lap. Your backpack was the first thing you pulled out, and as you unzipped it, all the glasses of apple juice that was previously packed in there were shattered. _Figures._ Your eyes wandered the box some more, and what they land on this time is a black, dusty baseball cap. You hold it up to your nose. _Smells like bro._ God you miss him.

Instead of crying, you set the cap on your head. _Stay with me, okay?_


	4. Chapter 4

_Dave: Be the nerdy kid_

Nerdy kid? You mean Egbert? John? Egbert? Oh. Okay. Might as well.

* * *

 _John: Do something_

Now what is there to do on a summer day like this? Well, it's really just the evening. But you're full of energy, and it's not eight or ten PM yet. You're just laying on your bed, looking at your collection of movie posters in absolute silence. Normally, you'd hear your dad downstairs, baking cakes and other goodies. But he's out for the moment, probably getting more ingredients. If he were down there now, you'd probably go on and bake something with him. Ugh! God, you're so bored! Finally, you sit up and get out of bed, suddenly missing the comfort.

But you open your door, hopping down the steps for the hell of it and taking a big jump off at the third step. _THUMP! And he sticks the landing!_ You sigh and laugh a bit to yourself as you walk into the kitchen to see the cakes and other baked goods sitting on the counters and table. You have no idea how or where your father got his baking skills, but he's pretty damn good at it. Look at them, well-decorated and fresh out of the oven. After a good look-around, you decide to go into the living room to watch the television, maybe pass some time.

Though the first thing that popped up when you switched the television on was the news. Now normally, the news would waste your energy. Sometimes you'd fall asleep from watching it within seconds. But instead, you sit up straight, ending up standing up when the headlines of the news were related to Dave's hometown, Houston. Behind the reporter were broken streets and fallen buildings.

 _Oh my god... Dave..._

You ran back upstairs to your computer, exiting out of those programs that you coded, but were failures anyway. You open up Pesterchum and started a chat.

 _ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 18:36_

 _dave? oh my god, dave?! -EB_

 _i just saw what happened! please tell me you're okay! -EB_

 _dave? -EB_

 _oh god... please don't dead... -EB_

You run downstairs again for more information on the attack, and it looked like your dad was home now. He was still holding the groceries, staring at the television before turning back to face you. "John, Dave lives in Texas, doesn't he?" He questioned.

Before you could completely walk over to him, you drop to your knees, sobbing loudly. You feel your father's arms wrap around you and pull you into his warmth. _Dave, no. You can't be dead!_ "No...!" You continue to sob, sinking further into your dad's embrace. "Dave... D-Dave..."

The reporter said, "Almost everyone that's lived in Houston is buried in their own grave except for one that is currently seeking treatment to his injuries, but there aren't exactly any other details on this sole survivor."

 _John: Be Dave_

But he's dead! You know he's dead! Gone! He... Wait, she said someone survived?

* * *

 _Dave: Examine your scars_

The tip of your index finger ran through the minor cuts on your face. Damn, you've never seen yourself look so beat up like that before. Not that you actually have gotten hurt like this in the past. But with all these scars, it makes you look so different. Even with the aviators on... Oh okay. Now you look like your past self again. You set the hand mirror off to the side and laid your hands in your lap before laying back, noticing you're still wearing your brother's baseball hat. Though you leave it because it's actually surprisingly comfy. Though as you completely lay back down, you felt something poking at your back. Reaching back around at your lower area, you touch something somewhat dry and rough. Pulling it out from behind you, realize it was the picture of your friends you stuffed into your pocket. The thought of them made you smile. But it made you wonder though. _Do they think I'm dead? What're they doing right now?_

* * *

 _John: Pester Jade_

 _what! oh my god john what! -GG_

 _thats so crazy, is he alive? -GG_

 _i don't know, jade. -EB_

 _i tried asking rose if she heard anything from him, but she apparently seemed to be having a mental breakdown over it .-EB_

 _woah really? -GG_

 _it at least looked that way. -EB_

 _when i started pestering her, she kept going off and asking me if he was actually alive or not. then it looked like she was talking to herself for a while by convincing herself that dave was alive. -EB_

 _oh man... -GG_

 _now i dont know if i can sleep peacefully knowing that he could be dead or something... -GG_

 _same here. -EB_

 _it's stressing me out like crazy. -EB_

 _im gonna start crying just by thinking about it now :( -GG_

 _well then i guess we're both feeling the same thing then. -EB_

 _but they said there was a sole survivor, so i'd rather think that it's dave so i don't have to stress out as much -EB_

 _i dont know... i guess that works -GG_

 _but sleep well, let me know about any other updates on this whole thing, ok -GG_

 _sure thing. -EB_

 _goodnight, jade. -EB_

 _ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering gardenGnostic [GG] at 19:05_


	5. Chapter 5

_Dave: Eat and Chat_

It'd almost been a week since you actually ate anything. Or at least, real food. It's been hard to eat due to the amount of pain you reported while attempting to swallow and chew, so the amount of nutrition you received wasn't enough, but today's meal really almost had you drooling, so you had a good feeling that you were going to enjoy it without experiencing any pain, and even better, the pain in your ankle had ceased. Eating meatloaf was unusual at first, since you really never had anything like it, but nonetheless you dig right in. You nearly gag out what you just ate, and Logan, who'd been standing there since he gave you the tray, settled you down by putting a hand on your shoulder, almost prepared to do the Heimlich maneuver if, "Easy there."

You swallow thickly, "Sorry... It's just that I've really never eaten this much before, and what you guys gave me wasn't enough last week..." You stick another fork-full of food into your mouth, "And Bro really never fed me anyway, so..."

"Wait, your brother never fed you?"

"He used to give me peas, but most of the time he just verbally abused me."

"Seriously, why didn't you say something about it?"

You pause. "If I told anybody, that would mean I'd lose him. Aside from my friends, he was all I had. He taught me how hold and fight with a sword. He taught me how to-" You snort and smile a bit, "How to make some sick beats. In a way, he was like my dad." You frown again, "I even called him that when I was little... He started crying a bit, and he just said to call him 'Bro'."

"What happened to your parents?"

"I... Really don't know. Bro never mentioned them. I really don't think we had any."

"So it was just you and him..."

"Just me and him..." _But now it's just me..._

Suddenly, coming in through your tent was Hesh, looking at Logan, "There you are. Dad needs us on an assignment."

"Did he say what is was?" Logan asked.

"He would say until you were with me," Then Hesh turns to address you, "You doin' alright?"

You can only nod since you're chewing on the roll. Logan smiles at you before he leaves the tent, and you stare down at your tray of leftovers. You really miss your brother. Even if he could be the worst bro once in while, he's always had your back. _Does he still have it?_

* * *

 _Logan: Regroup w/ Elias_

Okay, when you say 'Elias' you really mean your dad. Sometimes you switch back and fourth between calling him by his actually name or just calling him by his parental sign. Sometimes, calling him dad is easier, despite how weird it might seem to other soldiers. Though back to the point here. Your dad has got once again another assignment for both you and your brother, and all of them he's sent you on only seemed to be like tests, and if that is the case, you can only think about what he's testing you on. Commitment to being a soldier? Maybe more than that? Your brother has talked about it quite a lot, so it's good that you and him are on the same page.

You find your dad talking with another soldier, either about the attack in Houston or your enemies' position. Hesh calls out for him, to which he turns around, dismissing the soldier next to him. "There you are," He says, "You boys doing okay?"

"Always," Your brother confirms, and you really nod. You've always let him do all the talking, so you'll let him take care of it here.

"Walk with me," Elias says, and he leads the both of you to the top floor. Judging how he wants this conversation to be private, this next assignment must really be important. As you reach the empty room upstairs, Hesh breaks the silence, "Dad? Is this about the next mission?"

Your dad is silent at first, having his back turned towards you as if he didn't want you to see the emotion on his face.

"Dad...?" Hesh brings his hand to touch his shoulder, trying to bring back his attention, "What's this about? Is everything okay?"

The old man looks back at you two, sighing, "Listen, you boys... You're the only thing I have left on this world. But you're also the only ones I can trust."

You feel a little uneasy, knowing that this operation he's sending you on might be a lot more different from the other ones. But you know it's nothing you can handle, and Hesh confirms it in his own choice of words, "Hey, look. Whatever it is, Logan and I, we're ready."

He looks at the both of you, hesitant at first, but he nods, "You two are going to No Man's Land."

You blink, definitely not expecting that. Hesh wasn't either. No Man's Land is a whole span of destruction between LA and San Diego, and in that region was the place you three used to call your home. Those lands of your childhood were now nothing but ruins, much like half of America itself. It was occupied by the enemy, and according to dad, very few men of his got to operate there.

"We've been on the defensive for too long," Your dad explains, "So I'm sending you outside the wall. You'll link up with a recon team, gather any intel you can on the enemy and get your asses back here."

"Where in No Man's Land are we going?" Hesh asks.

"Somewhere you know better than anyone. You're going home."

* * *

 _Dave: Fast forward a few hours later_

Okay, you're completely bored a few hours later. You've scanned every scar on your body, cleaned the blade of your brother's sword, and even took a nap. At this point, it's become too hot to sleep, so you took off your shirt and swung your legs over your bed and let them dangle there for only a few seconds. Finally, seeing how the world was about the size of your tent for a while, you step onto the rough carpet below you. You walk over to the opening, peeking your head out only to see a crowd row of tents similar to yours, some bigger. You only guessed that this was an area for the wounded since you could see some soldiers dragging over some men and women who couldn't walk on their own, either on their shoulders or on stretchers.

 _Dave: Aggress_

Okay, forget feeling bored. Now you're just bored. Why would you want to aggress-

 _KABLOOSH!_


	6. VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE

**Okay, some may be unhappy w/ this (depending on how interested you guys are in this story), but after revising/rewriting some of the previous chapters, I figured that this called for a deep revision in most of the story as well, so that's what I'm going to be doing, and I delted most of the chapters because I didn't want anyone to be confused for why some parts of the story seemed to be unbalanced or confusing. I'm gonna try to post the revised chapters as soon as possible, but for now, I'm sure that there are plenty of fanfics to occupy yourself with lol, and they're probably better than this. So thanks for understanding and being patient.**

 **-Charlie**


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